A New Breed
by Destini
Summary: Tina Oak, a student at Pokemon Tech, is about to discover that there are many types of excellence and many ways to obtain it.
1. First Impressions

Today was the day.

_ The _day.

Turning this way and that, Tina admired her reflection. Then she shook her head, took down her long, brown hair and tied it up a different way. She didn't like that, either, so she brushed it back out.

She had to look perfect. After all, you only get to make a first impression once and Tina wanted it to be a good one.

It had to be a good one.

Gentle, but firm. Friendly, but respectable. Kind, but—

What if the new Pokémon didn't like her? What if it just sniffed at her and turned the other way?

She sighed. Fretting over it wouldn't do much of anything. The important thing was to be herself. Miss Pyre wouldn't assign her a Pokémon she couldn't get along with. It was against the rules, after all—teachers were supposed to help students prepare a strong, balanced team tailored to their personality and style of battle. That much, Tina knew—she'd read the syllabus.

Only when her alarm clock blasted into life did Tina realize she hadn't even dressed yet. An hour of playing with her hair and worrying and she forgot to get ready for the big day at all!

Shedding her nightclothes, Tina threw open her armoire and then laid out her uniform for the day. She tugged it on and adjusted herself in the mirror, twitching the skirt lower here, the shirt straighter there. She relaced her shoes, nice and tight, and made sure her socks came to just above her ankles, exactly like regulations said. As for her hair… she'd just about declared that a lost cause when a pair of invisible hands took hold of it and pulled it back into a soft, loose braid.

"Thanks, Kezme—I appreciate it."

Tina grabbed an apple from her nightstand and tossed it to the Abra, still asleep by the window. The fruit stopped, midair, then settled noiselessly on the window sill, all without Kezme stirring in the least.

"You eat that, okay? And when I get back you'll have a new friend."

"…Aaaa-braaa…"

She smiled. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it, too." With that, Tina closed and locked the door to her dorm, then started down the stairs of her dormitory.

By the time Tina reached the large, white building at the center of the Pokémon Tech campus where her first class was supposed to be held, the ten-minute warning bell had rung and her heart was racing. To calm herself, Tina focused on page eighteen of _Moments to Mastery: A Beginning Trainer's Guide to Taming Pokémon_.

Page eighteen covered the various tactics for post-capture first interactions. According to the author, it was important that the Pokémon viewed the trainer as the authority figure. Then they wouldn't be tempted to test their boundaries at inappropriate moments. He suggested standing erect and looking the Pokémon in the eye to assert dominance.

In some cases, a little bit of discipline was in order. During times like this, it was recommended that the trainer isolate the Pokémon in their Pokéball for a number of days until it tamed itself. The book said it was also wise to wait until the trainer was far away from the new Pokémon's original territory before calling it from its Pokéball for the first time.

Tina thought the whole practice was really rude.

The entire classroom was buzzing with excited whispers when she finally arrived. Tyler sat in the back, talking animatedly with Sammy, his blazer slung over the back of his chair. By the window, Melanie, Penny, Elaine and Heather were in a tight circle, heads close.

Tina waved hi to Mitchell and Ricky—or was it Ricky and Mitchell?—arguing over who would get the better Fire-type. Steven, always lost in his books, sat alone in the corner.

"Good morning!" Tina bent and gave Steven his morning hug.

"Morning," he said with a small grin as he closed his book.

"What're you reading?" she asked, craning to see the cover.

"_Silver Ninetales_," he said and pinked a bit. "It's really good."

Tina hugged him again. "Let me read it when you're done?"

Steven nodded and opened his book again as Tina sank into the chair in front of him, scooted closer to the desk and arranged her books on the rack under her seat.

"Tina!" Melanie noticed her, left the gossip circle and plopped down in the seat in front of Tina's. She spun it around and leaned over Tina's desk, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "What do you think you'll get?"

Tina shrugged. "I don't know—maybe a Ponyta or a Torchic?"

Melanie lowered her voice so only Tina could hear. "Think bigger, Tina! Elaine helped Miss Pyre pick out the Pokémon and she says that someone's going to get a Houndour! It could be you!"

Tina gasped. "That's against the rules, getting a Dark-type in the first year program!"

"Well, yeah, but that's the thing. She says whoever it was pulled a lot of strings to get it done."

"Oh." Tina lowered her eyes to her desk. There was only one direction that this could go. And once Melanie bit into a theory, she'd hold it until someone gave her something new to chew.

"Now, see, I was thinking maybe your grandpa might've—"

She stopped short when the 9:00 bell rang. Everyone else did, too, and turned the right way in their seats. Ten pairs of eyes darted to the clock tower outside the window of the third-floor classroom.

One… two… three… Tina tapped her pencil—come on, ring faster! …seven… eight… nine!

"Boys and girls, to yo—" Miss Pyre stopped her words short. For the first time since start of term, every single student was in their seat when she entered the room. "…Let's begin, then."

She set a covered basket on the front desk and Tina's attention zeroed in on it. Pokéballs filled that basket. Every one of them had a Pokémon: unique, powerful and full of life. And one of them was about to be hers.

"Penny Brooks?"

Penny stood, walked to the front and collected her Pokéball. The latch opened, releasing a Charmander, and Tina had to bite her knuckle to keep back a squeal. After recalling the Charmander, Penny sat back down and Miss Pyre called another name. One slow, steady breath at a time, the class passed and Tina waited her turn.

A Torkoal, a Slugma, a Magby—_why _ did her name have to be so far down the list? What if there weren't any left when it came to her turn? That basket could only hold so many Pokéballs and how many had already been given out?

Tina held her breath.

Next Mitchell received a Ponyta. Then Ricky got a Torchic.

Okay, so she wouldn't be getting one of those. But there had to be a Pokémon left somewhere in that basket for her.

"Elaine North?"

She was given a Cyndaquil. By now, Tina could keep the squeals to herself, but the fidgets were another story altogether.

"Tina Oak?"

She jumped up so fast that her chair almost toppled. Melanie and Elaine giggled as Tina steadied herself and walked to the front, her arms stick-straight at her sides to keep them from trembling.

Almost the second the Pokéball touched her hand, rigidly outstretched, it sprang open. The red light took shape at Tina's feet and faded to leave—

"Grooowlithe!"

The puppy Pokémon wasted no time. She looked up at Tina and sniffed at her once—Tina froze: moment of truth—and then pounced, knocking her new trainer to the floor, laid out flat on her back.

"I guess we're friends, then?" Tina managed to utter despite the extra weight on her chest.

Tina then had to squirm to avoid the Growlithe's rough tongue as she licked the young trainer's face and hands. "Quit—cut it out—that _tickles!_"

Only once the Growlithe had licked Tina square on the nose did Miss Pyre succeed in pulling the Pokémon off, much to the amusement of the rest of the class. Tina pulled herself to her feet. She braced against another tackle, but the Growlithe sat still, calmly staring up, with her tail wagging and tongue lolled to one side. Tina recalled her Pokémon and clipped the Pokéball to her belt. Then, beaming like a proud mother, she made her way back to her seat.

"Steven Smith?"

Tina gave her friend a small smile as he stood and approached the desk. He ran a hand through his black hair and reached for the Pokéball Miss Pyre held out to him. When the red light faded, he held a little orange Vulpix. The kit turned to Steven and nuzzled his cheek. He pinked, grinned and recalled her, then started back toward his desk.

"We can be training buddies!" Tina whispered to him as he passed her by again. "Vulpix get along great with Growlithe, right?"

Steven gave a small nod and sat down behind her as Miss Pyre called the last student.

"Tyler White," she read, even though she didn't have to; Tyler had already stood to collect his new Pokémon. He pushed his short blond hair out of his face and Tina had to admire him.

There weren't many students outside of her classes that Tina knew, but everyone knew Tyler. Or, at least, everyone knew his name. His parents had paid his admissions fees in cash. For good measure, they built the new upperclassmen's stadium and threw some more money into the dorm projects. It showed in his walk, too, like he owned the world and knew it.

In a flash of brilliant red, Tina's illusions of a gallant gentleman vanished.

"He cheated," Ricky hissed.

"No, he bribed the headmasters, stupid," Elaine retorted.

Other whispers, less distinct, welled up but then Tyler's new Houndour lowered itself to the ground and growled, ready to spring. Tyler waited a minute for full effect then recalled the Pokémon. The talk died away.

"I told you so," Melanie said, looking over her shoulder at Tina as the bell rang to end class.

After her classes had ended for the day, Tina returned to her dorm. There, she let the Growlithe out of her Pokéball and let her roam the room.

"Welcome home. Since this is where you'll be staying. With me." She paused. "I'm Tina, by the way. I'm your trainer. And you're a Growlithe."

But the Growlithe wasn't paying much attention. She was under the desk, then by the armoire, then nosing beneath the bed and everywhere else in the room, sniffing, pawing, poking, exploring. Kezme shimmered into view in front of her and the Growlithe leapt backward, barking the alarm. She dove between Tina and the Abra and growled.

"Easy! Down, girl—Kezme's a friend!"

Kezme opened her slit-like eyes and leered at the newcomer, who glowered right back. The Growlithe leapt at Kezme, jaws wide.

"Hey! Stop that! Kezme's not trying to hurt you!"

_ Click_. Nothing but air.

Tina's cry didn't dispel the situation. Every time Kezme sparkled into view, the Growlithe would pounce. Finally, she ran smack into the armoire, nose-first. She sat back on her haunches and looked up at Tina with a whimper. Tina settled in beside her and scritched the Growlithe behind the ears.

"Are you going to calm down now?" The Growlithe gave another whine and set her head on Tina's knees. "Good. We're family now. You and me, Kezme and Rowan—"

The Growlithe raised her head.

"You'll meet him soon." Tina scritched the Growlithe's ears again and she laid her head back down. Her ears perked as Tina added. "You can have a nickname, too, if you want one."

"Is that a yes?" she asked when the Growlithe jumped up again and started running circles around her. She smiled and watched her new friend.

"What do you think of the name 'Taja'?"


	2. The Usual Suspects

Tina woke up the next morning to a frantic pounding on her door. She rolled out of bed, pushed her hair out of her face and stumbled to open it.

"Mm-hmm?" she yawned as she swung it open. Heather hit her knees at Tina's feet, tears streaming.

"What is it?" Tina helped Heather up and over to the desk chair, where she collapsed.

"I-I'm sorry—I didn't know who else t'-" Taja pawed at Heather's leg and pressed a Pokédoll into her hand. "-Who else t' come to."

After grabbing the quilt from the end of her bed and wrapping it around Heather's shoulders, Tina wiped Heather's face. "S'okay—you don't have to be sorry. What happened?"

Heather dabbed her eyes on the blanket and hugged the plush Squirtle to her chest. She sniffled and couldn't say anything else for a minute.

"What's wrong?"

"M-my mom… she's sick. Dad says not to worry, the doctors can fix it."

Tina lifted Heather's face and smiled. "Well, that's good—nothing to cry about, right?"

Another sniffle. "Hospitals take mo-money, Tina… I won't be able t' come back next year…"

Tina's heart dropped a peg. It just wouldn't be Pokémon Tech without Heather. Or without Ricky or Melanie or Steven. There had to be a way.

Taja leaned against Heather's leg and gave a soft whine.

Wait…

"What about the tournaments?" Tina pulled out her backpack from under the desk and rifled through it, looking for her planner. "The class ones in April. There's a scholarship. You could win it!"

Drawing the blanket tighter around her, Heather shook her head. "I'll never get it. I might as well quit now. Get the refund and wait a few years."

Tina gripped Heather's shoulders and bent to her level. "You can't just quit like that… What would your mom say if she knew you just gave up?"

"She'd say she's glad I got this whole stupid idea out of my head."

"But it isn't a stupid idea!"

Heather's head jerked up—Tina had never raised her voice like that.

"It's not a stupid idea to want to be here. And it's not a stupid idea to train Pokémon and it's not a stupid idea to believe in yourself."

Her eyes turned down again, Heather just shook her head. "I'm not good enough and you know it."

Something else, written in bright blue ink in her planner, caught Tina's attention. She skimmed it and then handed the book to Heather.

"What about the mentor program? It's supposed to help a lot."

"I don't know…" Heather scanned the page. "I've heard that they only pick the worst upper-classers as mentors. I'll just look stupider by being with them."

"What if I joined, too?"

Heather mulled it over. She gnawed on her thumbnail and fidgeted in the chair, looking everywhere except at Tina.

"Please, just think about it?"

Heather sighed, and Tina knew she'd won.

"Good! We'll apply together tomorrow."

Tina took her time dressing after Heather left—there was no way she'd be getting back to sleep now. She brushed her own hair and then combed through Taja's fur, checking for fleas. Finding none, she hesitated and then pulled a Pokéball from her bedside table.

"Ready to meet your other teammate?"

Taja yipped and Tina pressed the button on the ball. She then dropped it and dove between the bed and the wall.

The Pidgey emerged from his ball with the force of a small tornado. He screeched and fanned his wings, then tore through the room, knocking over the chair and a small desk lamp which—all thanks to Kezme—landed unharmed.

"Rowan, stop it!" Tina poked her head out from behind her bed. "Stop wrecking my room right now and behave!"

Rowan spied her and dove, talons-first, for her ponytail; she shrieked and ducked back down. Then he landed on the headboard and cried his authority over the room. His triumph was cut short when Taja bounded onto the bed. She glared at the Pidgey and growled, long and low. Tina took the opportunity to edge out of hiding and try to reclaim the dropped Pokéball.

Rowan, meanwhile, eyed Taja, who sprang at him. He flapped his way to the ceiling and dove at her, beak-first. He was sent spiraling when Taja swatted him with one of her paws. Dazed and wobbly, Rowan sank to the floor. Tina picked up his ball and recalled him as Taja circled her, checking for injuries.

It was during times like this that Tina thought maybe page eighteen did have its uses.

Rowan might never listen, she realized. He might just keep getting stronger and stronger and respect her less and less. Maybe he'd even evolve. And then he really would be dangerous.

On the other hand, she didn't know if he'd listen next time. Maybe he would. It was only for that reason that she kept letting him out at all.

She sighed and clipped the Pokéball to her waist. No sense in worrying about Rowan right now. After all, she could deal with him when she wasn't in such a small space.

"Want to see the rest of the campus, Taja?"

Taja stopped circling, sat and wagged her tail.

"Let's go, then."

Pokémon Tech's campus was deceptively large. The land that all of the classrooms and dorms were built on only made up about a quarter of the whole thing. Including the stadiums, the measurement was a little more accurate, but that was still only half. Then there were the woods, where students could try catching real wild Pokémon, time permitting.

Tina loved the woods. More than any of her teachers or any of her classes, she loved the woods. She'd only really been in them once and that was when she'd captured Rowan. There just wasn't enough time in the day to gather materials and plan a hike.

Today, though, she wanted to show Taja the practice yards. Pools with built-in tides and whirlpools, targets of various shapes and sizes and artificial weather machines filled them. A couple rows of computer battle simulators stood in an attached room, but finding a free one was a matter of pure luck.

Tina and Taja entered the yards and headed for the Fire-type courts. Flame-resistant targets and high temperatures made them perfect for a Growlithe.

Or for a Houndour, apparently.

The Houndour caught sight of Taja and snarled, hackles up and teeth bared. Growling a warning, Taja set herself up between Tina and the potential threat. The Houndour returned it with a raised tail: the Pokémon equivalent of a challenge.

"Taja, don't!" Tina wound her hands into Taja's fur to prevent her from pouncing, though she didn't know how effective that would be.

It wasn't.

The Houndour lunged and Taja pulled free from the grip. She proved the slower and the Houndour pinned her and latched his teeth around her throat.

"Get off her!"

Tina grabbed the Houndour around the neck and pulled. He didn't move, just rolled an eye in her direction and growled. Taja jerked, trying to free herself, and Houndour tightened his grip.

"I said get o-!"

With a savage lurch, Houndour threw Tina from his back. Taja whimpered at the added pressure to her throat and Tina pulled Rowan's Pokéball from her side. If ever a little chaos was needed…

"C'mon." Tyler—had he been standing there the whole time?—nudged the snarling Houndour in the side with his foot. "The school has better things to eat than scrawny Growlithe pups."

After one last squeeze for good measure, Houndour released Taja—Tina ran to check on her. Taja wasn't in any hurry to get up off the floor. Her breath came quickly and shakily and what if she was seriously hurt?

"Just take it easy for a minute, Taja…" Tina stroked Taja's side, felt the way her heart raced. "It's okay, you're okay…"

She fished through her pack and found a small purple spray bottle—a potion for healing injuries like this.

"This might sting just a little bit," Tina said, lifting Taja's head. She sprayed a bit of the liquid over Taja's neck. The Growlithe whined shied away from her, but Tina persisted. She parted Taja's fur and made sure that the Potion seeped through to the skin. Its healing properties went into effect almost immediately and Taja opened her eyes.

"Hey… How are you feeling?"

Taja pushed herself to a sit. She whimpered a little at the residual sting but otherwise seemed fine.

"That Houndour's a menace," Tina seethed, checking Taja's neck over for more damage. "He's dangerous and he's too strong for a first-year."

Speaking of, why was he there to begin with?

There were rules in place against certain types at Pokémon Tech. First-year students could make a team from any of the nine Pokémon they were given through the year. So far, everyone had three—a Flier that they'd caught on the capture hike, a Fire-type and a Psychic (though the last came only after being tested to see if they could control one—the rest got a Rock-type). Later in the year, they'd get a Grass-, Electric and Water-type. Supplementary types were Normal, Ice and Ground. Some would even get a Fighting-, Bug- or Poison-type.

A second-year student was allowed to bring a Steel-type to school with them if they were lucky enough to catch one and third-years were allowed Ghost-types. Dragons and Dark-types, since they were so unpredictable, generally weren't allowed until the fourth-year curriculum.

And those rules were there to protect the Pokémon _and _the trainer. Next time that Houndour got let out, someone could really get hurt. Something had to be done. But if there'd been a bribe or something like that to bring it in, who would be able to do anything?

Tina called Taja back into her Pokéball—research said that they didn't feel any pain when they were tucked safely away and Tina hoped it was true.

She couldn't go to the Board of Directors because the Whites were on it. She thought there might've been one in the treasury, too, but the likelihood that the treasury could do anything to help her was low, anyway. Miss Pyre had already given the Houndour to Tyler, so she wouldn't be willing to take it back.

Maybe if she skipped straight to the head, then? Headmaster Bennet could do anything, that's what her grandpa had told her when she started school and Tina believed him.

At least, Tina hoped he could.

The entrance hall never failed to make Tina feel small. Smaller than small when no light came in through the windows, like now. The ceiling looked so high that Mew herself would have trouble reaching it.

At the end of the corridor stood the headmasters' offices, the center door belonging to Headmaster Bennet. Tina approached it, swallowed hard, raised a tentative hand and knocked.

Someone inside groaned, "Come in if you must!"

Tina edged the door open and peeked inside. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden increase in light—the late-afternoon sun filled the window directly behind the headmaster's desk—and a strong stench like old ink spun her head. The graying man at the desk didn't look half as intimidating as he sounded; he looked more than twice it. Scribbling away in a notebook, he didn't even raise his eyes.

"Um… sir?"

Now he glanced at her. "Come in and sit down, if that's what you're here for." Tina scuttled inside and shut the door behind her. Then she smoothed her skirt and sat in the straight-backed chair in front of the desk.

Headmaster Bennet looked her over and Tina shrank in her seat. "Shouldn't you be in class?" He then returned his attention to his papers.

"There's no class today—it's Saturday."

Another penetrating look.

"Sir."

With a sigh and the snap of a book closing, he focused his keen eyes on her. "Get on with it. What's the problem?"

Tina twisted the bottom of her skirt in her hands. "Well, sir. There's a boy in my class and—"

"—And he pulled your hair. I'm sorry to hear that, but I do have more important things to do."

"But, sir, you haven't heard me."

Tina swallowed hard when those dark eyes narrowed in her direction.

"If that isn't the issue, then what is?"

Tina pulled out Taja's Pokéball and fumbled it a bit. She tightened her grip around it and the whole story spilled out. As she spoke, Headmaster Bennet's expression darkened. He didn't interrupt, not once, pressed for time though he might have been.

"Tyler White, you said."

Tina nodded and he pulled a file from one of the many cabinets near him. He leafed through it for a moment, mouthing names, before he found what he was looking for.

"It says here he was given a Vulpix."

"No, sir—he got a Houndour. The whole class saw it. Melanie Ferris—she's one of my friends—she said that Elaine North said that—"

"You've said that once. I don't need to hear it again. Go back to your dorm, Ms. Oak. I'll bring this to the attention of my vices."

Tina jumped up from the chair and wasted no time doing just that. There was nothing else she could do but hope Headmaster Bennet would keep his word.


End file.
